In a unanimous voice vote, the Nashville Metro City Council has voted to pass an ordinance to decriminalize small amounts of cannabis. This second reading vote comes roughly three weeks after the council voted 32 to 4 to pass the measure through its first reading. It will receive a final vote on September 20th.

“There’s a large criminal justice reform conversation going on now and there’s a large national conversation that is changing around this particular issue,” says Councilmember Russ Pulley, a co-sponsor of the legislation. “This gets us involved in that conversation”.

Once passed into law, the possession of up to a half an ounce of cannabis will be reduced to a simple $50 civil penalty (which can be paid through 10 hours community service). Under current law the possession of even one gram of cannabis is a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and/or a maximum fine of $2,500.

Nashville is the capital of Tennessee with a population of around 630,000.

Anthony Martinelli

Anthony is co-founder and Editor-in-Chief of TheJointBlog. He has worked closely with numerous elected officials who support cannabis law reform, including as the former Campaign Manager for King County (WA) Councilmember Dave Upthegrove. He has been published by multiple media outlets, and is a former contributor for Village Voice Media.

Anthony can be reached at TheJointBlog@TheJointBlog.com.

2 comments

Cannabis/Marijuana/Ganja/Weed….is a super food…google it’s nutrition…thc is a nutrient that fights disease not a drug…it’s a plant a flower used for thousands of years as food, religious sacrament, textiles, fuel…it’s our best sustainable resource it should be grown abundantly for all by anyone that desires to do so.